In an image taken (obtained) by an imaging apparatus (camera or the like), sometimes, a screen may suddenly become too bright due to external flash such as a flash of the imaging apparatus. If the imaging apparatus (camera or the like) is the one which employs a CCD-type imaging element (CCD-type image sensor), the effects of the external flash appear almost evenly on the screen of the captured image. This is because an operation to send charges from a photodiode, which is provided for each of pixels of the CCD-type imaging element, to a charge coupled device (CCD), which is to become a buffer, is performed for all the photodiodes at the same time.
However, a CMOS-type imaging element (CMOS-type image sensor), which has recently become popular to be integrated into an imaging apparatus (camera or the like), sends charges (stored charges) of photodiodes provided for each of the pixels of the CMOS-type imaging element to portions to become a buffer from the top of the screen (imaging element surface). Thus, in the CMOS-type imaging element, there is a lag between a period during which charges stored by photodiodes arranged in an upper portion of the screen (imaging element surface) are transferred to a buffer and a period during which charges stored by photodiodes arranged in an lower portion of the screen (imaging element surface) are transferred to a buffer.
For example, if strong light of a flash enters a CMOS-type imaging element in a period as shown in FIG. 17A, “Field 2” is affected by flash light in a lower portion of a screen of the captured image obtained by such a CMOS-type imaging element, and “Field 3” is affected in an upper portion of the screen as shown in FIG. 17A. As a result, as shown in FIG. 17B, in “Field 2”, only a lower portion of the screen of the captured image becomes bright, and in “Field 3”, only an upper portion of the screen of the captured image becomes bright. Since the light of the flash is strong light, in the taken video (image) in such a circumstance, the brightened portion is often washed out (so-called “overexposure” phenomenon happens), and has a white band shape (a portion with a high intensity in a white band shape appears on an image (video)).
With respect to such video, the technique disclosed in Patent literature 1 (a conventional imaging apparatus) does not record fields including a band-shape video caused by flash in recording the video, and, instead, record the prior or following video which is not affected by the band-shape video. For example, with respect to the video as shown in FIG. 17B, video (image) of “Field 1” is recorded instead of video (image) of “Field 2” and video (image) of “Field 3” in the conventional imaging apparatus.